Entrepreneur, writer and speaker focused on leadership, life and social justice
ASHLEY STANLEY
Ashley Stanley is a born and bred Bostonian. Since founding Lovin’ Spoonfuls in 2010, more than 17 million pounds of fresh, healthy food has been rescued and brought into the social service stream. She has created unparalleled awareness for food rescue, with dedication to addressing hunger relief, climate change and health equity.
In 2011, the Boston Business Journal named her an ‘Emerging Leader.’ In 2012, Lovin’ Spoonfuls was a two-time winner of the Mass Challenge competition. In 2013, Ashley was selected as one of the BBJ’s 2013 ’40 under 40’ and served as a fellow at The Nantucket Project. In 2014, Ashley was recognized by The Boston Globe as a ‘Game Changer’ and in Boston Magazine‘s ‘Power of Ideas.’ She is an Oxfam International’s Sisters of the Planet Ambassador, a member of TEDWomen, and a TEDx community speaker. She’s been featured on NPR and written for The Huffington Post.
ASHLEY INSPIRES AUDIENCES TO:
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Generate meaningful and human-centered outcomes
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Challenge traditional and outdated ideas
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Bring bold, simple and effective perspective to their personal and professional lives
Speaking and Thought Leadership
In addition to participating in conferences, summits and panels across the country, Ashley is a regular speaker / lecturer at Harvard, MIT, and Boston University's Questrom School of Business.
RECENT FEATURED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:
TEDx Beacon Street (Summer 2020)
WATCH: Rethink Your Purpose, Repair The World
Inbound 2019 in Boston
WATCH: Video clip from Ashley's talk, 'It's Not What You Do, It's How You Do It' here!
Work and Food Justice
Since 2010, Ashley has been a vocal advocate for food rescue, leading the charge for food justice in Massachusetts.
Bridging the gap between abundance and need, Ashley's organization, Lovin' Spoonfuls, provides over 75,000 pounds of fresh, perishable food to those who need it most in over 40 communities, feeding over 30,000 each week.
Though a direct distribution model, Lovin' Spoonfuls provides direct, same-day deliveries on a regular schedule, enabling beneficiaries to depend on the service and products.
"We are all similar in our human condition, starting, at a minimum, with a common experience through food."
- Ashley Stanley
Articles, Ideas & Podcasts
Rethink Your Purpose, Repair The World
September 14, 2020
In Ashley's 3rd TED talk, she examines what happens when we identify a sense of purpose in history. For her, she gained perspective - and often, like most of us, passion. As the world continues to confront the intersection of COVID19 and the resurgence of the Black lives Matter movement, Ashley draws on her family's history as refugees during WW2 as the inspiration for a current call to action.
Food & Wine Magazine features Organizations serving during COVID19
March 19, 2020
Lovin' Spoonfuls’, a food rescue and distribution nonprofit in Massachusetts, is continuing efforts to provide emergency food relief throughout Greater Boston, MetroWest, and Hampden County. In addition to their traditional food rescue and distribution efforts, they have employed responsive procedures to address the city and state restaurant closures.
Seaon 2, Episode 9 of The Food Lens with Ashley Stanley
March 18, 2020
Nothing Wasted! Podcast
February 24, 2020
"Once we start making this personal and start understanding just how far the food can go, and see how widespread the need really is - it might shape the way that we think about what we can do with excess product"...
Add Passion and Stir Podcast: The Keys to Organizational Success: Teamwork and Community
December 31, 2018
What are the common ingredients for high-functioning organizations? Lovin’ Spoonfuls founder and Executive Director Ashley Stanley and distinguished Boston chef and restaurateur Colin Lynch (Bar Mezzana and Shore Leave) join host Billy Shore to discuss their philosophies on building successful organizations and strong communities.
Radio Cherry Bombe Episode 127: Rebecca Masson, Ashley Stanley & Katie Quinn
August 31, 2017
Cherry Bombe checks in with Rebecca Masson, one of Houston’s most celebrated pastry chefs and founder of Fluff Bake Bar, to hear how she’s doing and what we can do to help her city. Also stopping by is Katie Quinn, the YouTube personality known as QKatie. and author of the Short Stack Editions cookbook on avocados. Ashley Stanley joins as well. She’s the founder of Lovin’ Spoonfuls, an organization that has rescued more than 7 million pounds of food and distributed it to Boston-area homeless shelters, food pantries, and soup kitchens.
The Trump administration unveiled its $4.1 billion budget Tuesday, and the shock waves are being felt far beyond Washington. For many working in especially-targeted agencies, the magnitude of these cuts will have considerable implications. Here in Boston, EPA workers are rallying against the proposed cuts by gathering at the State House in a show of opposition..
Huffington Post: How Do You Rescue?
October 03, 2016
NPR's The Takeaway with John Hockenberry
November 02, 2015
An Innovative Approach to Food Waste
It won’t be long before the holiday season is upon us, and it is often around the holidays that charities start sending out requests for money and food donations to help feed the hungry.
While there are close to 50 million people across the country who struggle to feed themselves and their families, Americans also throw away an estimated 40 percent of their food in the trash. Much of our wasted food ends up rotting away in landfills where it releases methane gas, something that causes a number of environmental problems and contributes to climate change.
WGBH Innovation Hub Podcast: The Consequences of Wasting Food
September 25, 2015
Nearly 40 percent of the food that America produces goes to waste. Lovin’ Spoonfuls founder Ashley Stanley explains why that’s happening, and what we can do about it.
Huffington Post: Putting the Value Back in Food
June 28, 2016
It’s 8:30 a.m., and our first pick-up is underway. Not a substantial haul, but not a small one either, and it looks something like this: 600 pounds of organic milk, 5 days before it’s expiration date; 38 pounds of raspberries, perfect, red and ripe. There’s also 56 pounds of wholesome, locally-produced bread that was baked last night, 64 pounds of sandwiches and salads made yesterday, and 45 pounds of fresh, organic chicken breasts, too.
Boston Globe Game Changers
June 14, 2015
Ashley Stanley believes people need to think more about what already exists, rather than the things we don’t have.
This is an important point to Stanley, the founder of Lovin’ Spoonfuls. Her nearly five-year-old Boston nonprofit collects fresh food that would otherwise end up in the trash, delivering it to homeless shelters and other nonprofits where it is needed.
Huffington Post: The Race for Food
July 26, 2016
...This week, 50,000 politically-motivated citizens are convening in Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention. Last week in Cleveland, which drew similar numbers (along with 30+ million TV viewers), the GOP laid out their platform for the general election. Yet, there was no talk about the food system. Nor was there talk about the number of hungry people in this country – and no talk of why the gaps continue to get wider.
